Throw rug mounting on a door



April 23, 1968 A. A. BUTLER 3,378,950

THROW RUG MOUNTING ON A DOOR Filed Oct. 24, 1966 INVENTOR. Ale/V040 Ii Ban. E1?

United States Patent Ofiice 3,378,950 Patented Apr. 23, 1968 3,37%,950 THRGW RUG MQUNTING ON A DOOR Arnold A. Butler, 4M3 Howard Ave, Los Alamitos, Calif. 90720 Filed Oct. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 539,012 4 Claims. (CI. 49-70) This invention relates to a throw rug mounting on a door, and particularly a means of mounting a protective rug or pad on a door so that the rug or pad will unwind or unfold as the door opens to protect the carpet or floor within the house, and the rug or pad will automatically reroll or refold as the door closes.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel throw rug mounting on a door which is so constructed that the rug or pad will effectively unfold and refold as the door opens and closes, and without crushing or misaligning the rug in either of its two positions.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel throw rug mounting on a door which is positioned within a frame or housing attachable to a door, and which can be easily and effectively mounted on the door so that the rug or pad will automatically fold and unfold as the door swings on its hinges.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel throw rug mounting on a door in which the rug or pad has an arcuate shape, the length of the are being variable according to the swing of the door upon which it is mounted.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of my throw rug mounting positioned on the outer face of the door.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a door in open position.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a hinged door of the usual and well known type, and especially one which opens to the outside of the house. A throw rug is frequently placed in front of the door 1 on the inside of the house to prevent the tracking of dirt and moisture in the house by pedestrians.

A frame or housing 2 is fixedly attached to the door 1 either on the inside or the outside face of that door, and the frame is mounted adjacent the lower edge of the door as shown. The usual threshold 3 is positioned below the door 1, all of which is usual and well known in the art.

A rug or strip 4 is mounted in the frame 2, and this rug or strip is arcuate in shape, substantially as shown in FIGURE 4-, and the length of the arc will depend upon the maximum throw of the door 1. One end of the rug or strip 4 is fixedly attached to the threshold 3, as shown at 5. The rug or strip 4 then is threaded into the frame 2 through the open bottom 6 of the frame. To properly fold or roll the rug or strip 4, I provide the following structure all within the frame 2: A pair of vertically spaced arms 7 and 8 are pivotally mounted within the frame 2, as

shown at 9. The arms 7 and 8 may be formed of a single length of heavy rod or Wire and bent into a U-shape. The arms 7 and 8 are both spring pressed to an upper position, shown in FIGURE 3, and these springs may be coil springs 10 or any other suitable type of constant tension spring which will urge the arms 7 and 8 to their raised or upper position. At the lower end of the frame 2 and within the opening 6, I provide two guide rollers 11-12 between which the rug or strip 4 extends, and these rollers are not movable vertically. An idler roller 13, which is also fixed within the frame 2, is so positioned that the strip 4 passes under this roller and causes a downward pull on the arms 7-8 when the door 1 is opened, and when a pull is exerted on the rug or strip 4 by reason of being attached to the threshold 3. The springs 10 will maintain a constant tension on the rug or strip 4 and these arms will swing downwardly in an are around the pivot 9, due to the pull on the rug or strip. When the door 1 is closed the springs 10 will pivot the arms 7 and 8 to their upper or raised position, thus again maintaining tension on the rug or strip 4 and causing it to properly roll or fold to the position shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The lowermost position of the arms 7 and 8 is shown in FIGURE 5. The inner end of the mg or strip 4 within the frame 2 is folded and stitched to form a sleeve 14. Thus as the door 1 opens and closes the rug or mat 4 will fold or roll into and out of the frame 2 and through the bottom thereof to provide a mat or strip upon which pedestrians can walk. Since the door 1 hinges on one vertical edge, the rug or mat 4 is arcuate in shape to conform to the swing of the door as it opens and closes.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A throw rug mounting on a door, said door being hinged for inward swinging movement in a doorway, a threshold in the doorway, a mat, one end of said mat being secured to the threshold, an arm, means pivotally mounting the arm on the inside of the door adjacent the hinge side and proximate the lower margin thereof for vertical swinging movement parallel to the plane of the door, spring means urging said arm to a raised position above the floor level, and means securing the opposite end of the mat to the arm whereby the mat is held in a raised retracted position parallel to the door when the door is closed and is extended along the floor in front of the door as the door is opened inwardly.

2. A throw rug mounting as recited] in claim 1, and wherein said arm comprises spaced parallel elements pivotally attached to the door by said pivot means.

3. A throw rug mounting as recited in claim 1, and a frame attached to the door, said arm being mounted in said frame, and a roller journaled in said frame parallel to and adjacent the bottom margin of the door, said mat extending around the roller.

4. A throw rug mounting as recited in claim 1, said mat being arcuate in shape to conform to the arcuate swing of the door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,432,790 10/1922 Robertson 49-60 2,217,570 10/1940 Stroup 15-2l5 2,857,173 10/1958 Benander 15-237 XR KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A THROW RUG MOUNTING ON A DOOR, SAID DOOR BEING HINGED FOR INWARD SWINGING MOVEMENT IN A DOORWAY, A THRESHOLD IN THE DOORWAY, A MAT, ONE END OF SAID MAT BEING SECURED TO THE THRESHOLD, AN ARM, MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE ARM ON THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR ADJACENT THE HINGE SIDE AND PROXIMATE THE LOWER MARGIN THEREOF FOR VERTICAL SWINGING MOVEMENT PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF THE DOOR, SPRING MEANS URGING SAID ARM TO A RAISED POSITION ABOVE THE FLOOR LEVEL, AND MEANS SECURING THE OPPOSITE END OF THE MAT TO THE ARM WHEREBY THE MAT IS HELD IN A RAISED RETRACTED POSITION PARALLEL TO THE DOOR WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED AND IS EXTENDED ALONG THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE DOOR AS THE DOOR IS OPENED INWARDLY. 